DrTebi
Active Member
I have been a FreeBSD and Linux guy for a couple of decades now... so my response may be a bit over the top. Nevertheless, let me describe my solution:
About 6 years ago I decided to build a new file server. I went for a professional rack-mount "bare-bones" server from SuperMicro (SYS-5027R-WRF), put in five 1-terrabyte drives, added an Adaptec RAID card and configured it as a RAID-5, with FreeBSD as the operating system.
I use Samba for file-sharing, it works well with Windows/Linux/Mac. Basically your network folders just show up like hard drives, you can configure permissions for it (very useful to prevent accidental deletion... I speak from experience!), copy, paste, cut, rename, create folders... etc.
That server is blazing fast, a huge difference from anything I had before. Especially when plugging in as opposed to wireless (wireless still works without drops, only hi-def movies may have a hick-up at times).
I organize my music just like you do. Then I use different programs to access it, Quodlibet is quite good for Linux, mpd works great and can be controlled with an iPhone, Audacious, Kodi (former XBMC)... but since this is all file-based, no program should have a problem accessing and indexing your files. When we started remodeling our apartment, I put CAT6 lines into pretty much every room; so I can watch movies from the files server in the living room with a small computer, listen to music in the workshop with a 15 year old Linux machine etc.
I looked into UPnP at times, but didn't like the way it is configured. Afterall, I use the server for much more than just music—all my files, photos, movies, backups, books... it's all on there.
My failure rate so far has been zero. The only time this server was offline was, when I needed to cut the power to do some electrical work in the house.
Long story short, if you want full control, full customization options, great speed, reliability... a home-brewed FreeBSD or Linux server would be my choice. It may take some time to figure it all out, and it will can cost a bit upfront if you want a "pro" kind of server, but I promise you won't regret once it's zipping files left and right at full speed
About 6 years ago I decided to build a new file server. I went for a professional rack-mount "bare-bones" server from SuperMicro (SYS-5027R-WRF), put in five 1-terrabyte drives, added an Adaptec RAID card and configured it as a RAID-5, with FreeBSD as the operating system.
I use Samba for file-sharing, it works well with Windows/Linux/Mac. Basically your network folders just show up like hard drives, you can configure permissions for it (very useful to prevent accidental deletion... I speak from experience!), copy, paste, cut, rename, create folders... etc.
That server is blazing fast, a huge difference from anything I had before. Especially when plugging in as opposed to wireless (wireless still works without drops, only hi-def movies may have a hick-up at times).
I organize my music just like you do. Then I use different programs to access it, Quodlibet is quite good for Linux, mpd works great and can be controlled with an iPhone, Audacious, Kodi (former XBMC)... but since this is all file-based, no program should have a problem accessing and indexing your files. When we started remodeling our apartment, I put CAT6 lines into pretty much every room; so I can watch movies from the files server in the living room with a small computer, listen to music in the workshop with a 15 year old Linux machine etc.
I looked into UPnP at times, but didn't like the way it is configured. Afterall, I use the server for much more than just music—all my files, photos, movies, backups, books... it's all on there.
My failure rate so far has been zero. The only time this server was offline was, when I needed to cut the power to do some electrical work in the house.
Long story short, if you want full control, full customization options, great speed, reliability... a home-brewed FreeBSD or Linux server would be my choice. It may take some time to figure it all out, and it will can cost a bit upfront if you want a "pro" kind of server, but I promise you won't regret once it's zipping files left and right at full speed
